Monday, May 31, 2010

Doctor's visit, part two

Looonnngggg day. An ultrasound, then a CT of the abdomen, and it all took five hours.

All-n-all, the efficiency was fine, actually. I got to my ultrasound at 10:10 like I was supposed to, and got in to do the test at 10:30. Not bad, in the scheme of things.

The ultrasound technician was the one who specializes in smaller soft-tissue parts. (It was actually the same one who I met a month or so ago when Shifra had her ultrasound on her small bits.)
She saw lots of good, healthy tissue, and one lymph node that looked possibly infected or inflamed, very near where the appendectomy was. So she decided that with my history, she'd send me for a CT of the abdomen.

So, an hour later after things were organized for the CT, I went just a few steps down the street (all of this was *not* in Soroka, thankfully) to another medical center for the CT. I didn't even have to lose my parking spot. :-)

They were quick in getting me in, but an abdominal CT takes 2 1/2 hours because of the icky stuff you have to fill your innards with beforehand. Drink a gallon of that stuff, then only after 2 1/2 hours are you ready for the scan. So, it went pretty smoothly, but if you do those two things one after the other (ultrasound then CT), it takes a lot of time, no matter what. Would've been longer in Soroka, though.

So, the pressing question here... what is the diagnosis? We don't have one; remember? You get the disk in hand, but not the evaluation for another few days. National health care. It is great a lot of the time, but not enough time for not enough doctors to do things quickly.

So I came home. Exhausted, and on an empty stomach for a few days except a half of baked potato yesterday. I made scrambled eggs and toast, and ate it before I felt that queasy feeling again. But the feeling returned. :-( I had to be on my feet a lot after that, when my children came home (& I had to go get Shifra myself), and I had to get dinner prep underway. Then my babysitter came, and I made a retreat upstairs. I have been able to rest, with visits downstairs to help with homework and to lie next to Azriel till he fell asleep. Not a hard task, might I add. :-)

I am here now in my room, resting, writing, feeling that familiar pain in my gut. Not so great, but the resting part is blessed.

When I know more, I'll tell you. I always do, don't I? Thanks for being here.

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